United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Declares that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997 or thereafter which would: (1) mandate new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Annex 1 Parties, unless the protocol or other agreement also mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period; or (2) result in serious harm to the U.S. economy. Calls for any such protocol or other agreement which would require the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification to be accompanied by: (1) a detailed explanation of any legislation or regulatory actions that may be required to implement it; and (2) an analysis of the detailed financial costs which would be incurred by, and other impacts on, the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management of the Internal Revenue Service Subtitle A: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management Subtitle B: Personnel Flexibilities Title II: Electronic Filing Title III: Taxpayer Protection and Rights Title IV: Congressional Accountability for the Internal Revenue Service Subtitle A: Oversight Subtitle B: Budget Subtitle C: Tax Law Complexity Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997 - Title I: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management of the Internal Revenue Service - Subtitle A: Executive Branch Government and Senior Management - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to replace current provisions establishing the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with provisions establishing the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board (the Board). Requires that seven of the nine members of the Board not be full-time Federal officers or employees. Requires that all Board members have expertise in, among other things: (1) management of large service organizations; (2) customer service; and (3) the needs and concerns of taxpayers. Requires the Board to: (1) review and approve strategic plans of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (2) review the operational functions of the IRS; (3) select the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Commissioner), as well as senior IRS managers, and review the Commissioner's reorganization plans; and (4) review and approve the IRS budget request, as well as ensure audits of the IRS. (Sec. 102) Replaces current provisions which authorize the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to employ such personnel as necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of the internal revenue laws with provisions requiring there to be in the Department of the Treasury a Commissioner who shall be appointed by the Board for a five-year term. Sets forth the duties of the Commissioner, including the: (1) administration and management of the internal revenue laws; and (2) Commissioner's responsibility to consult with the Board. Establishes and sets forth duties for: (1) a Chief Counsel for the IRS to be appointed by the President; (2) the Office of Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations; (3) an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. (Sec. 103) Replaces current provisions concerning the effect of reorganization plans with provisions which authorize the Commissioner to employ such number of persons as proper to administer and enforce the internal revenue laws. Subtitle B: Personnel Flexibilities - Directs the Commissioner to establish a performance management system covering IRS employees which: (1) establishes retention standards; and (2) establishes performance goals or objectives. Provides for awards based on performance, but prohibits making an award solely on the basis of tax enforcement results. Sets forth other provisions concerning: (1) classification and pay; (2) staffing; and (3) demonstration projects. Title II: Electronic Filing - Provides for paperless filing and payment of taxes. Title III: Taxpayer Protection and Rights - Sets forth provisions concerning taxpayer protections and rights, including provisions concerning: (1) authority to issue taxpayer assistance orders; (2) authority to award costs and fees; (3) damages for negligence in collection actions; (4) criteria and procedures for selecting taxpayers for examination; (5) archival treatment of IRS records; (6) freedom of information; (7) offers-in-compromise; (8) jurisdiction of the Tax Court; (9) cataloging of complaints; and (10) procedures for taxpayer interviews. (Sec. 309) Eliminates the interest differential on overpayments and underpayments. (Sec. 310) Eliminates the failure to pay penalty as long as an installment payment agreement is in effect. (Sec. 311) Directs the Secretary to accept installment tax liability payments if: (1) such liability does not exceed $10,000; (2) the taxpayer has, during the past five years, paid on time; and (3) the taxpayer has not entered into a prior installment agreement. (Sec. 313) Directs the Secretary to make grants to provide matching funds for qualified low-income taxpayer clinics. (Sec. 319) Provides for studies concerning: (1) taxpayer confidentiality; (2) penalty administration; (3) treating all taxpayers as separate filing units; and (4) burden of proof. Title IV: Congressional Accountability for the Internal Revenue Service - Subtitle A: Oversight - Authorizes the Joint Committee on Taxation (Joint Committee) to procure the services of experts for investigations of the IRS by the General Accounting Office. (Sec. 402) Establishes additional reporting requirements for the Joint Committee. Subtitle B: Budget - Provides for additional budget authority for the IRS, but only on annual basis and only if specified improvements are made in taxpayer services. (Sec. 413) Directs the Commissioner to convene a financial advisory management group to advise the Commissioner. Subtitle C: Tax Law Complexity - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS should provide the Congress with an independent view of tax administration. (Sec. 422) Requires a Senate or House of Representatives committee, when reporting legislation including any provision amending the IRC, to contain within the report a Tax Complexity Analysis. (Sec. 423) Declares it to be the policy of the Congress that employers should have a single point of filing tax and wage reporting information. (Sec. 424) Requires the Joint Committee to prepare a study of the feasibility of developing a baseline estimate of taxpayers' compliance burdens against which future legislative proposals could be measured.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 21, 1997, for a ceremony to allow Members of Congress to greet and receive His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, the 270th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1997
Arches National Park Expansion Act of 1997 - Modifies the boundary of the Arches National Park, Utah, to include the Lost Spring Canyon Addition (Area). Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer jurisdiction over the Federal lands contained in the Area from the Bureau of Land Management to the National Park Service to be administered in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to the Park. Continues existing grazing leases, permits, or licenses for the Area for the lifetime of the existing permittee and of any direct descendants of the permittee born before enactment of this Act. Allows the sale of such grazing lease, permit, or license, except that the term of a sold lease, permit, or license shall not exceed ten years or its retirement date, whichever occurs first. Withdraws Federal lands within the Area from the public land and mineral leasing laws. Provides that the inclusion of the Area in the Park shall not affect the operation or maintenance by the Northwest Pipeline Corporation of the natural gas pipeline that passes through the Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer specified Federal lands to the State of Utah in exchange for specified State school trust lands, if the State offers such exchange within one year after enactment of this Act. Subjects such exchanged lands to valid existing rights. Specifies requirements to be satisfied by the State before undertaking or permitting any surface disturbing activities. Requires the State to preserve existing grazing, recreational, and wildlife uses of such lands. Permits Utah to authorize or undertake surface or mineral activities authorized by existing or future land management plans for the acquired lands.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Assignment of Liability to Coal Operators Title II: Adjustments to Premium Computations Title III: Other Provisions Comprehensive Coal Act Reform Act - Title I: Assignment of Liability to Coal Operators - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions concerning coal industry health benefits to define "signatory operator" to mean a person that is or was a signatory to the 1978 National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement or any subsequent coal wage agreement. (Currently, the term is defined as a person that is or was a signatory to a coal wage agreement. The term "coal wage agreement" is, and would continue to be, defined as the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement or any other agreement between a coal industry employer and the United Mine Workers of America having specified requirements.) (Sec. 102) Requires: (1) that each eligible coal industry retiree be assigned first to the signatory operator that most recently employed the retiree for at least two years, then to the signatory operator that was the most recent to employ the operator; and (2) revocation of the assignment of any beneficiary to anyone who ceases to be a signatory operator because of the above change in definition, not reassigning the beneficiary, and considering them to be unassigned. Prohibits assigning or reassigning a beneficiary after enactment of this Act, treating as unassigned any beneficiary determined to have been incorrectly assigned. Title II: Adjustments to Premium Computations - Modifies the formula for determining the per beneficiary premium. (Sec. 202) Provides for: (1) annual premium reductions for small reachback signatory operators; and (2) the treatment of a surplus or deficit in the Combined Fund. (Sec. 203) Sets separate requirements for death benefit premiums for reachback signatory operators and other assigned operators. Modifies: (1) requirements regarding the unassigned beneficiaries premium; (2) the definition of "applicable percentage" and (3) requirements regarding applicable premium annual adjustments. Mandates establishment of a separate subaccount in the death benefits premium account for each of: (1) the death benefit premiums of reachback signatory operators; (2) the death benefit premiums of other assigned operators; and (3) the portion of the unassigned beneficiaries premiums attributable to death benefits coverage of unassigned beneficiaries. (Sec. 204) Sets forth a special rule regarding annual premium payment by a related person of an assigned operator. Title III: Other Provisions - Modifies requirements regarding certain 1988 agreement operators paying withdrawal liability. (Sec. 302) Requires the Combined Fund to make available to any person required to make contributions to that Fund all documents: (1) that reflect the Fund's financial and operational status; and (2) prepared at the request of the Fund's trustees or staff that form the basis for any actions or reports.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1997
Declares that any disapproval by the European Commission of the merger of the Boeing Company and McDonnell-Douglas would constitute an unwarranted and unprecedented interference in a U.S. business transaction that would directly threaten thousands of American aerospace jobs and potentially put many more jobs at risk on both sides of the Atlantic. Urges the President to take appropriate actions to protect U.S. interests.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
National Marrow Donor Program Reauthorization Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace provisions relating to the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry with provisions mandating establishment, by contract, of a program to assist patients needing a blood stem cell transplant in searching for biologically unrelated donor individuals. Sets forth program functions, including: (1) maintaining one or more donor and one or more recipient registries; (2) educational activities (including donor recruitment and professional and public information); and (3) establishing the Office of Patient Advocacy and Case Management. Mandates: (1) standards regarding quality, tissue typing, donor informed consent, and patient advocacy; (2) donor selection criteria; (3) stem cell collection and transportation procedures; (4) confidentiality standards; and (5) procedures for integrating participating donor registries and centers. Mandates criminal penalties for confidentiality violations. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a plan to effectuate efficiencies in the relationship between the program and donor centers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Declares that any disapproval by the European Commission of the merger of the Boeing Company and McDonnell-Douglas would constitute an unwarranted and unprecedented interference in a U.S. business transaction that would threaten thousands of American aerospace jobs. Urges the President to take appropriate actions to protect U.S. interests.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
Joan's Law Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require that any person convicted of a Federal offense involving a serious violent felony or the sexual exploitation of children shall, unless the death sentence is imposed, be sentenced to life in prison if the victim is under 14 years old and dies as a result of the offense.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997
China Human Rights and Democracy Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for International Broadcasting Activities only for broadcasting to China. Earmarks funds for: (1) capital expenditures for the purchase and construction of transmission facilities; and (2) Radio Free Asia. (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. international broadcasting through Radio Free Asia and Voice of America should be increased to provide continuous 24-hour broadcasting in multiple languages and dialects, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Tibetan, and Uighur. (Sec. 3) Authorizes appropriations to the National Endowment for Democracy, and directs the Secretary of State to use funds available in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Democracy Fund, to promote democracy, civil society, and the development of the rule of law in China. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on human rights in China, including religious persecution, the development of democratic institutions, and the rule of law. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Prisoner Information Registry for China; and (2) assign not less than six foreign service officers to the U.S. Embassy and consular offices in China to monitor and report on human rights matters in China. (Sec. 5) Requires specified reports to the Congress on Chinese intelligence activities against U.S. interests and on commercial enterprises affiliated with the Chinese military. (Sec. 6) Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. nationals conducting industrial cooperation projects in China should adhere to certain principles. Declares that such nationals should: (1) suspend the use of any merchandise that they have reason to believe was produced by convict or forced labor, and refuse to use forced labor in their projects; (2) seek to ensure that political or religious views, sex, ethnic or national background, or association with dissidents will not prohibit hiring, lead to harassment, demotion, or dismissal of an individual employed in the industrial cooperation project; (3) ensure that methods of production used in the projects do not pose unnecessary danger to workers and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment; (4) strive to establish a private business enterprise when involved in an industrial cooperation project with China or other state entity; (5) discourage any military presence on the premises of projects which involve dual-use technologies; (6) promote freedom of association and assembly among the U.S. national's employees; (7) provide the Department of State with information relevant to its efforts to collect information on prisoners for purposes of the Prisoner Information Registry; (8) discourage or prevent compulsory political indoctrination programs from taking place on project premises; (9) promote freedom of expression of all kinds; and (10) prevent harassment of workers who decide freely the number and spacing of their children, and prohibit compulsory population control activities on the premises of the project. Directs the Secretary to forward a copy of these principles to the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and encourage them to promote similar principles. Directs each U.S. national conducting an industrial cooperation project in China to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to U.S. nationals that have adopted such principles when selecting participants for trade missions in China. (Sec. 7) Requires the promotion of cultural, educational, scientific, agricultural, military, legal, political, and artistic exchanges between the United States and China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader of the Senate should establish a legislative exchange program with China; and (2) a federally chartered not-for-profit organization should be established to fund exchanges between the United States and China through private donations. (Sec. 8) Prohibits the Secretary from issuing any visa to, and the Attorney General from admitting to the United States, any Chinese national that has been materially involved in: (1) the commission of human rights violations; or (2) the proliferation of conventional or nuclear weapons technology, or other sensitive or dual-use technologies, in contravention of U.S. interests. Provides for waiver of such requirements in the U.S. national interest. (Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Congress, the President, and the Secretary should work with the governments of other countries to establish a Commission on Security and Cooperation in Asia which would be modeled after the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997
Family Forest Conservation Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an executor to irrevocably elect to exclude from the gross estate the value of any qualified conservation easement regarding any qualified forest land. (Sec. 3) Provides, if the executor elects and with the consent of each interested person, for the valuation of forest land that, at the decedent's death, constituted at least 25 percent of the decedent's estate and had been used for conservation or timber operations for five of the last eight years. Imposes an additional estate tax if the devisee or heir, within 25 years or the devisee's or heir's lifetime, disposes of any interest in the land or ceases to use it for a qualified use. Sets forth special rules for involuntary conversions and provides for the treatment of forest land exchanges. (Sec. 4) Excludes from gross income any gain from the sale or exchange of qualified forest land to a qualified organization for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997
Calls upon the parliamentary bodies and government officials of other nations, particularly those that participate in Little League baseball, to recognize and celebrate the international character of Little League baseball and to render Little League Baseball Incorporated assistance and recognition of its status as a nongovernmental international organization.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Auto Choice Reform Act of 1997 - Affords a person the right to choose between: (1) a personal protection system (personal system) providing insurance for that person and any resident relative or dependent; and (2) a tort maintenance system (tort system) providing for the form of motor vehicle insurance otherwise required in the State in which the person is insured. Sets forth personal system minimum requirements, including regarding waiver of certain tort rights. Supersedes State laws inconsistent with this Act. Sets forth tort system minimum requirements, allowing State laws (not inconsistent with this Act) regarding uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. Provides for: (1) the effect of a person's choice on resident relatives and dependents; (2) underwriting rules to encourage choice uniformity within a household; and (3) the failure of a person to choose. Requires States to maintain a program to inform consumers (comparing the two systems) about costs, benefits, rights, and obligations. (Sec. 6) Requires that a person who chooses: (1) a tort system and is involved in an accident be subject to tort law for injury except that, based on fault, the person may claim against (and be claimed against by) a personal system person only for uncompensated economic loss; and (2) a personal system be compensated only for economic loss, without regard to fault. Provides for the handling of accidents involving: (1) persons with personal protection and unlawfully uninsured persons; and (2) motorists under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs or engaging in intentional misconduct. (Sec. 8) Declares that this Act does not apply to a State if: (1) the State so elects; or (2) the State finds that average premiums will not be reduced by at least 30 percent for persons choosing the personal system.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, as a part of balancing the budget and reevaluating the role of government, Federal, State, and local elected officials should carefully consider the costs of government spending and regulatory programs in the year to come so that American families will be able to keep more of what they earn.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Coastal Shipping Competition Act - Amends Federal shipping law known as the Jones Act to redefine U.S. citizen to include certain corporations, partnerships, trusts, joint ventures, and other business entities organized under U.S. or State law, some (but not all) of whose officers, directors, or partners are U.S. citizens (currently all must be U.S. citizens), even though a parent corporation, partnership, or other second- or higher-tier owner, or trust beneficiary, is not a U.S. citizen. Allows a coastwise endorsement on the certificate of documentation for certain foreign qualified vessels and vessels of foreign registry (whose nation of registry and of the citizenship or nationality of each owner of record extends reciprocal privileges to U.S. vessels). Renames the requirements for Great Lakes licenses and registry as inland waterways endorsements requirements. Makes conforming amendments to the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 and other related Federal law with respect to transportation of merchandise or passengers, towing and salvaging operations, dredging operations, liability for injury or death of master or crew member, and requisition of coastwise trade vessels during national emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for specified activities relating to personal information about a child (defined as a person under age 16), including knowingly: (1) selling such information (by a list broker) without the written consent of a parent of that child, knowing that such information pertains to a child; (2) using prison inmate labor for data processing of personal information about children; and (3) distributing or soliciting any such information, knowing or having reason to believe that the information will be used to abuse or physically harm the child. Sets penalties for contacting that child or a parent of that child (by a person who uses personal information about a child that was obtained for commercial purposes) to offer a commercial product or service to that child and knowingly failing to comply with a parent's request to: (1) disclose the source of such information, all information that has been sold or otherwise disclosed by that list broker about that child, and the identity of all persons to whom such information has been disclosed; or (2) discontinue providing such information to third parties. Sets penalties for knowingly releasing personal information about another person's child to any entity that intends to use the information to solicit the sale of a product or service, without the permission of that child's parent. Authorizes civil actions by a child or a parent with respect to whom a violation of this Act occurs. Directs the court to award a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs. Specifies that nothing in this Act affects the sale of lists to: (1) the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (the Center); (2) accredited colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning; (3) the U.S. military; or (4) local, State, or Federal law enforcement agencies. Declares that it shall be the duty of each list broker operating in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce to make that broker's databases available twice annually, without charge, to the Center to allow the Center to match it with the database of missing children held by the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Prohibits persons sentenced to life in prison or death pursuant to Federal law from receiving gratuitous veterans' benefits (including the right to burial in a national cemetery).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1997
Civil Rights Act of 1997 - Prohibits discrimination or preferences in Federal employment and contracting and other Federal programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex. Prohibits requiring or encouraging any Federal contractor or subcontractor to so discriminate or grant a preference. Declares that this Act does not prohibit or limit encouraging contract bidding, recruiting employees, encouraging participation in other programs or activities or requiring or encouraging Federal contractors, subcontractors, or recipients of Federal licenses or financial assistance to so recruit or encourage, if the recruiting or encouraging does not involve granting a preference. Prohibits construing this Act to prohibit or limit: (1) any act designed to benefit historically Black colleges or universities; or (2) any action under a Federal law or treaty relating to the Indian tribes. Declares that this Act does not: (1) prohibit or limit employment classifications based on sex if sex is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to normal operation or the classification is applied regarding an armed forces member. Allows any aggrieved person to obtain, in a civil action, appropriate relief (including back pay). Requires awarding a prevailing plaintiff attorney's fees as part of the costs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Communications Satellite Competition and Privatization Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 to prohibit the issuance or renewal of any licenses or construction permits to, or the authorization of use of space segments owned by, any separated entity unless the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determines that such activities will not harm competition in the U.S. telecommunications market. Defines a "separated entity" as a privatized entity to whom a portion of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization's (INTELSAT) or the International Mobile Satellite Organization's (Inmarsat) assets are transferred prior to their full privatization. Requires the FCC to limit or revoke the authority to use space segments owned or operated by INTELSAT or Inmarsat to provide non-core services to, from, or within the United States unless after January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2001, INTELSAT and Inmarsat, respectively, and their successor entities, have been privatized in a manner that will not harm competition in the U.S. telecommunications markets. Limits expansion of INTELSAT and Inmarsat services pending privatization of such entities. Prohibits the FCC from assisting in the registration of new orbital slots for INTELSAT or Inmarsat after January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2001, respectively, unless such entities have been privatized in a manner that will not harm competition. Directs the President and the FCC to secure a pro-competitive privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat that meets specified criteria, including requirements that: (1) INTELSAT and Inmarsat are privatized by January 1, 2002, and January 1, 2001, respectively; (2) successor and separated entities are national, stock corporations independent of signatories that control access to telecommunications markets and of any intergovernmental organizations; (3) preferential treatment is terminated; (4) expansions are prohibited during transition; (5) successor or separated entities apply through national licensing authorities for international frequency assignments and orbital registrations; (6) such entities are domiciled in countries that have laws and regulations that secure competition in telecommunications services, are signatories of the World Trade Organization Basic Telecommunications Services Agreement, and have a schedule of commitments in the Agreement that includes non-discriminatory market access to satellite markets; (7) unused orbital slots are returned to the International Telecommunication Union; and (8) INTELSAT's and Inmarsat's assets are audited before transfer. Lists specific additional licensing criteria for INTELSAT, INTELSAT separated entities, and Inmarsat. Requires the FCC to permit providers or users of telecommunications services to obtain direct access to INTELSAT and Inmarsat telecommunications services by January 1, 2001, and January 1, 2000, respectively, and to treat the communications satellite corporation (COMSAT) as a nondominant carrier on the effective date of such actions. Permits multiple signatories to represent the United States in INTELSAT and Inmarsat on such dates. Authorizes the FCC to impose regulatory fees on the U.S. signatory. Prohibits the FCC from assigning orbital slots or spectrum used for international or global satellite communications services by competitive bidding.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Staffing Firm Worker Benefits Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to define "employer," in the case of a qualified staffing firm, as the employer of individuals performing services for a customer of the firm for purposes of provisions relating to: (1) collection of income tax at source on wages; (2) the Federal Insurance Contributions Act; and (3) the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Defines a "qualified staffing firm" as any person engaged in providing staffing services to a customer under a service contract if, regarding a worker performing services for the customer covered by the contract, the firm has responsibility for payment of wages, handles withholding taxes and benefits, has authority to hire, reassign and dismiss, maintains employee records, and has responsibility for addressing the worker's complaints, claims, filings, or employment-related requests. (Sec. 3) Includes in the definition of "employee," for specified provisions relating to various employee benefits, any individual whose employer is a qualified staffing firm. Treats certain changes in the employment relationship between an individual and a qualified staffing firm (or its customer or former customer) as a termination of employment from the firm (or the customer). (Sec. 4) Treats a leased employee as an employee of the recipient of the employee's services and treats contributions or benefits provided by the recipient as provided by the recipient for purposes of provisions relating to qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans. Sets forth special rules applicable to the leasing organization's plans. (Sec. 5) Revises leased employee safe harbor requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States, in licensing a passenger motor vehicle whose ownership has been transferred, to disclose on the certificate of title whenever records indicate that such vehicle was previously issued a title that contained a word or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each State in licensing such vehicles to apply uniform standards, procedures, and methods for the issuance and control of motor vehicle titles and for information to be contained on such titles. Sets forth requirements for the transfer of salvage title and rebuilt salvage title vehicles and nonrepairable vehicle certificate vehicles. Requires persons transferring ownership of a salvage vehicle to give notice to the transferee that the vehicle is a salvage vehicle. Directs the Secretary to prescribe requirements (similar to those of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act) that a label containing certain information be affixed to the windshield or window of a rebuilt or remanufactured salvage vehicle before its first sale. Prohibits a person from willfully removing, altering, or rendering illegible such label before the vehicle is delivered to the ultimate purchaser. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly and willfully to: (1) make false statements on an application for a motor vehicle title; (2) fail to apply for a salvage title when such application is required; (3) alter, forge, or counterfeit a certificate of title, a nonrepairable vehicle certificate, a certificate verifying an anti-theft inspection or an anti-theft and safety inspection, or a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; or (6) conspire to commit any of the above acts. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes States and other State officials to bring civil or criminal action in the appropriate court to enforce the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Columbia River Habitat Protection and Recreational Access Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to convey to the State of Washington and to Adams, Grant, and Franklin counties in Washington specified portions of the Hanford Works, an area of property along the Columbia River in Washington. Allows such conveyances only after the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency has made specified certifications to the Secretary with respect to the appropriate environmental cleanup of such area. Directs the State of Washington to enter into a joint agreement with Benton, Franklin, and Grant Counties to establish the Hanford Reach Protection and Management Commission, which shall develop and implement a plan to manage the lands conveyed by the Secretary in order to protect and enhance plant, fish and wildlife, and cultural resources, as well as recreational access to, and other uses of, Hanford Reach (a 51-mile stretch of land along the Columbia River containing fish, wildlife, and other resources). Requires Adams, Grant, and Franklin Counties to submit to the Secretary: (1) a risk analysis of debris slides in the White Bluffs Wasteway; and (2) a comprehensive land use plan of the Wahluke Slope.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Higher Education and Learning Promotion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish nontaxable education investment accounts which shall permit annual contributions of not more than $1,500 for the account holder's qualified higher education costs. Subjects account distributions used for nonqualifying purposes to taxation, including an additional ten percent tax. Sets forth related reporting requirements. Makes the employer-provided educational assistance program exclusion permanent. Excludes from gross income distributions from a qualified state tuition program used for qualified higher education expenses (including room and board).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Medical Device Regulatory Modernization Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to set forth the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mission and to mandate annual FDA and Comptroller General reports to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when there is a scientific controversy between a regulated person and the Secretary, to establish a procedure under which the regulated person may request a review of the disputed subject matter. (Sec. 4) Revises or imposes requirements regarding: (1) investigational device exemptions; (2) premarket approval requirements (mandating a device review priority); (3) humanitarian device exceptions; (4) safety and effectiveness performance standards (allowing recognition of self-certifiable consensus standards); (5) effectiveness determinations (as used in classifying devices); (6) reliance on postmarket controls to expedite classification; (7) substantial equivalence; (8) labeling (as affecting premarket approval); (9) supplemental applications; (10) promotional material representations; (11) premarket notification; (12) initial classification; (13) classification panels; and (14) premarket approval application review (allowing review by accredited persons). (Sec. 12) Mandates accreditation of persons to review and initially classify devices. (Sec. 13) Mandates publication of a list of types of class III devices that are not subject to regulation under specified provisions and for which the Secretary has determined that premarket approval is unnecessary, requiring each to be regulated as class III subject to general and appropriate special controls. (Sec. 14) Modifies requirements regarding: (1) device tracking; (2) postmarket surveillance; and (3) good manufacturing practice regulations (including foreign harmonization) and inspections (including adding references to accredited entities and post-inspection procedural requirements). (Sec. 17) Removes distributors from recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Removes reporting requirements regarding certain certification and removals and corrections. Mandates new user reporting regulations limiting user reporting to a user subset to create a representative profile of user reports. (Sec. 18) Prohibits subjecting a person to penalties if the person acted in good faith and had no reason to believe the acts violated the law. (Sec. 19) Mandates an information system to track the status of each submission requesting FDA action. (Sec. 20) Prohibits actions by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the FDCA from requiring the preparation of an environmental assessment or impact statement. (Sec. 22) Regulates communications to non-FDA persons regarding certain matters before completion of related investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1997
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1997 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to proscribe bringing a private class action based upon State or municipal law in State or Federal court by any private party alleging: (1) an untrue statement or omission in connection with the purchase or sale of a covered security; or (2) that the defendant used any manipulative or deceptive device in connection with such a transaction. Declares that any class action brought in any State court involving a covered security shall be removable to the Federal district court for the district in which the action is pending.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1997
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Improvements Act of 1997 - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (Title XVII, Subtitle A, of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) regarding State sex offender registration programs to require that a determination that a person is or is no longer a sexually violent predator be made by the sentencing court after considering the recommendations of the appropriate State board or boards or of the State under certain circumstances. Directs each State, within two years, to establish one or more State boards. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirement under specified circumstances. Modifies requirements regarding release, parole, supervised release, and probation of such persons to require specified actions by a designated agency, court, or other responsible official under an approved State registration program, including reporting address changes as provided by State law. Requires such agency to forward the registration information to the agency responsible for registration under State law, in accordance with State procedures that meet specified requirements. Requires that any person who is: (1) required to register in that person's State of residence also register in accordance with the law that governs the registration, verification, and notification of sex offenders of each State in which that person is employed or carries on a vocation or is enrolled as a student; and (2) serving a sentence of probation, parole, or other supervised release for conviction of an offense that requires registration, and who is residing in any State other than that in which that person was sentenced, to register in accordance with the law of the State of residence of the offender. Sets forth notification requirements. Requires a State, by July 1, 1999, to submit a report to the Attorney General that sets forth existing or proposed laws regarding stalking crimes against individuals 16 years old or younger. Prohibits the sale or exchange of information collected under a State registration program for profit or remuneration. Includes independent contractors acting at the direction of law enforcement agencies and State officials within immunity for good faith conduct. Expands registration requirements to include certain Federal offenders and military offenders. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should have in effect a law that makes it a crime to stalk an individual under age 16 without requiring that such individual be physically harmed before a stalker is restrained or punished.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1997
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Completion Act - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to acquire, by exchange, the mineral and geothermal interests of each holder (Burlington Northern, Incorporated or the Weyerhaeuser Company) in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument in the State of Washington. Requires the acquisition to take place within 180 days after enactment of this Act or as soon as practicable after the U.S. Court of Federal Claims determines the value of the mineral and geothermal interests to be conveyed by the holder if: (1) the Court is petitioned because of the Secretary's failure to make such determination within 120 days after the enactment of this Act; or (2) the holder disagrees with the Secretary's valuation of the mineral and geothermal interests. Sets forth requirements and administrative procedures for such exchange including issuance of monetary credits to a holder for payment of not more than 50 percent of: (1) the bonus or other payments made by successful bidders in any sales of mineral, oil, gas, or geothermal leases under the Mineral Leasing Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970; or (2) any royalty, rental, or advance royalty payment made to the United States to maintain any mineral, oil or gas, or geothermal lease issued under such Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1997
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Mother Teresa of Calcutta in recognition of her contributions to humanitarian and charitable activities. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a suitable gold medal. Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Declares these medals to be national medals. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates deposit of sale proceeds in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Medicare Cancer Clinical Trial Coverage Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration project which provides for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of routine patient care costs for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer who are enrolled in an approved clinical trial program, while still applying the beneficiary cost sharing provisions of such program to project participants. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the impact on Medicare of covering such costs as well as the cost of extending routine patient care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis other than cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Worker Paycheck Fairness Act - Requires a labor union accepting payment of any dues or fees from an employee as a condition of employment to secure from each employee a prior, voluntary, written authorization for any portion of such dues or fees which will be used for activities not necessary to performing the duties of exclusive representation in dealing with the employer on labor-management issues. Gives employees a right of civil action against any labor union which violates this requirement. Requires employers to post notice relating to such requirement. Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to require every labor union to attribute and report expenses by function classification in detail necessary to allow its members to determine whether such expenses were necessary to performing the duties of exclusive representation in dealing with the employer on labor-management issues. Requires disclosure under such Act to employees required to pay any union dues or fees (under a union security agreement) as well as to union members.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1997
Authorizes the Pyramid of Remembrance Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land within the District of Columbia or its environs to honor members of the armed forces killed while engaged in a military operation, other than a declared war, which involved conflict with an opposing foreign force. Prohibits the use of Federal funds in establishing such memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar and half-dollar coins emblematic of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Allocates surcharges from coin sales between the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and the National Park Service for activities associated with the bicentennial commemoration of the expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Eastern Wilderness Act - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to: (1) study and inventory all Federal, State, and private lands of 500 acres or more which are east of the 100th meridian and which may qualify as wilderness; (2) review those areas identified as having wilderness characteristics; and (3) report to the President their recommendation as to the suitability of each area for preservation as wilderness. Requires the President to advise the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of his recommendations with respect to such areas. Provides for the management of such areas before and after designation as wilderness, requiring such areas to be devoted to recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use and prohibiting commercial enterprise and permanent roads within such areas (with specified exceptions, including the continuation of uses established before the designation). Authorizes continued access for private landowners whose land is surrounded by wilderness area. Authorizes the appropriate Secretary to: (1) acquire State or privately owned land to establish a wilderness area if the owner consents and the acquisition is specifically authorized by the Congress; and (2) accept gifts or bequests of land within wilderness areas. Requires, at the beginning of each congressional session, a joint report from the Secretaries to the President for transmittal to the Congress on the status of the wilderness system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that: (1) to secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed; and (2) the Government shall not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, initiate or designate school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1997
Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that whenever a district court has jurisdiction in civil rights cases it shall not abstain from exercising or relinquishing its jurisdiction to a State court in an action where no claim of a violation of a State law, right, or privilege is alleged. Authorizes the district court, in such cases that cannot be decided without resolution of a significant but unsettled question of State law, to certify such question to the highest appellate court of that State (and after the State appellate court resolves the question certified to it, the district court shall proceed with resolving the merits). Bars the district court from certifying a question of State law unless such question will significantly affect the merits of the injured party's Federal claim and is so unclear and obviously susceptible to a limiting construction as to render premature a decision on the merits of the constitutional or legal issue in the case. Requires that any claim or action brought to redress the deprivation of a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution be ripe for adjudication by the district courts upon a final decision rendered by any person acting under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or territory of the United States, that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. Provides that any claim brought under provisions regarding the United States as defendant and regarding the jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims that is founded upon a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution, but allegedly infringed or taken by the United States, shall be ripe for adjudication upon a final decision rendered by the United States that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. Sets guidelines for what constitutes a "final decision" for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1997
Expresses support for: (1) the work of the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and all the Federal, State, and local entities and other interested groups that are preparing bicentennial activities to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition; and (2) the events to be held in observance of the Expedition at Council Bluff near present-day Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, at St. Louis, Missouri, and at Bismarck, North Dakota, and many other cities during such observance. Calls upon the President, the Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the National Park Service, American Indian tribes, other public officials, and U.S. citizens to support, promote, and participate in the many bicentennial activities being planned to commemorate the Expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Expansion of Portability and Health Insurance Coverage Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) application and related matters, and notice for voluntary termination; (7) corrective actions and mandatory termination; and (8) special rules for church plans. Revises requirements for the treatment of: (1) single employer arrangements; and (2) certain collectively bargained arrangements. Adds requirements relating to association health plans, with respect to: (1) enforcement; and (2) State responsibilities and cooperation between Federal and State authorities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Public Services Aviation Act of 1997 - Amends Federal aviation safety law to consider a government-owned aircraft to be a public aircraft if it is: (1) operated in the performance of a governmental function by a unit of government on behalf of another unit of government pursuant to a cost reimbursement agreement; or (2) transporting (for non-commercial purposes) crewmembers whose presence is associated with the administration or support (or, as currently, performance) of a governmental function such as, but not limited to, public safety, among other functions specified by current law.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Urges the Department of Education, States, and local education agencies to work together to ensure that at least 90 percent of all funds appropriated for Department-administered elementary and secondary education programs is spent for children in their classrooms.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Women's Investment and Savings Equity Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to limitations on the deduction for active participants in certain pension plans to provide that an individual's participation in a plan is not treated as participation by the individual's spouse. Permits retirement contributions to be made for periods during which individuals were on leave for maternity or paternity leave. Permits "catchup contributions" by parents returning to work after periods of nonparticipation in a plan. Defines "catchup contributions."
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Extends congressional gratitude to Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope for his accomplishments and service on behalf of U.S. military service members. Confers upon Mr. Hope the status of an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1997
Amends the Revenue Act of 1987 to repeal the termination date of a specified transition rule and permanently exempt from taxation as corporations certain publicly traded partnerships (master limited partnerships).
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Veterans Cold Weather Injury Compensation Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and maintain a registry of veterans who, while in active military service, were exposed for a significant period of time to sustained periods of extremely cold weather (seven days or more of average temperatures of 32 degrees or lower). Requires such registry to be used to determine the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and the exposure to such weather. Presumes cold-weather injuries in such veterans to be service-connected and therefore compensable through veterans' disability compensation. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days, to prescribe initial regulations on injuries determined to have a positive association with sustained exposure to cold weather.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that certain provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 relating to transportation of merchandise between U.S. points in other than domestically built or rebuilt and documented vessels and to incineration of hazardous waste at sea (those provisions popularly known as the Jones Act) and related statutes are critically important components of our Nation's economic and military security and should be fully and strongly supported.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services of registered dieticians and nutrition professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Open Competition and Fairness Act of 1997 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit discrimination against any bidder on a prime contract for a federally funded project on the basis of a requirement that such person enter into or adhere to a collective bargaining agreement or any similar agreement as a condition of performing work on such contract.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dunn, Jennifer [R-WA-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000549_200.jpg)